


Pancakes can fix any problem, or so they say

by BlissfulBethx



Series: Wanda Maximoff; One shots [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Scarlet Witch (Comic), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Brotherly Steve Rogers, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Wanda Maximoff, Kid Wanda Maximoff, POV Wanda Maximoff, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-Wanda Maximoff/Vision, Protective Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers and the 21st Century, Steve Rogers cooking pancakes, Telepathic Wanda Maximoff, Wanda Maximoff Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 20:23:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19731124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlissfulBethx/pseuds/BlissfulBethx
Summary: Wanda can't sleep (as always) and Steve invites her round for pancakes, despite the fact it's 4 am.





	Pancakes can fix any problem, or so they say

White flecks blurred past her window as she gazed mournfully into the night. The city before her eyes was illuminated by blazing billboards and glowing streetlights. Even at night the city was alive, humming and buzzing with an energy invisible to the naked eye. Wanda could feel it though, in the air. Just outside of her room, thousands of strangers were roaming the city and Wanda could _feel_ the excitement bubbling in their veins. She could sense their joy and their amazement as clearly as one would sense tension in an awkward conversation. All their feelings floated in a hazy mess of emotions that entangled themselves in her mind, impossible to ignore. What was worse, however, was the terror that was also ripe throughout the vibrant streets. It didn’t float gently in the air, it clung to it with sharp claws and it stung the back of Wanda’s eyes. Fear so powerful it was palpable overwhelmed all the good feelings and it made Wanda nauseous. She didn’t know what could be causing all that fear, but she had some suspicions.

Sickening pictures of men being beaten and women assaulted attacked her brain at top speed, her imagination working overload as she struggled to process the negative emotions she could sense. Her own discomfort caused by the onslaught of other’s emotions exhausted her whilst simultaneously making it difficult to sleep.

Wanda tried to force it all out and focus on the snow that fell lightly onto the ground below her and the cool air that was flowing gently into her room through her open window. It caused some of the snow to fall onto her windowsill, but she didn’t mind. Clutching a fluffy pillow tighter to her chest, she willed her mind to quieten and her heart to stop hammering.

It wasn’t always like this. In fact, it had been a while since an episode this bad had struck. Most of the time, people’s feelings were a soft niggling in the back of her mind that took little energy to force out. Unless somebody was in severe distress (or even excessively happy) or the person in question was opening themselves up to Wanda purposefully, other people’s emotions were relatively easy to ignore or push away. Sure, she herself could push her way into somebody’s mind and discover what they were feeling, but she hadn’t done that since the incident with the Avengers, and she never planned to again. What somebody was feeling was their business, and it was their choice about whether or not they wanted to physically express that emotion to her.

Except during an episode. During these, she couldn’t help detecting other’s emotions. It just happened suddenly, and it was completely out of her control. Normally, they would occur after a nightmare - where her mind was at its most vulnerable - which was a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, the Avengers stayed blissfully unaware of her struggles with her powers on these fateful nights (the last thing Wanda wanted was to reveal a weakness with her powers to the Avengers, she didn’t want to lose the trust she had finally gained). But, on the other hand, it meant spending the long, agonising nights in complete solitude without anything or anyone to distract her. Thankfully though, they normally only lasted 6 or 7 hours, so she didn’t have long to go.

_Only 3 more hours, at most_ she told herself.

Desperate to take her mind off of everything, Wanda decided to leave her room and search for something to do. A part of her worried that the closer she got to the Avengers, the clearer their feelings would be but after testing that theory during her last episode, she knew that wasn’t how it worked. She could sense so many emotions at once that it was impossible to tell which feelings belonged to which person.

_A sliver of silver lining on this very grey cloud_ Wanda thought irritably.

Opening her door, she gently padded out of her room and into the kitchen area that Stark had installed. It was kind of pointless, seeing as Wanda didn’t know how to cook and Peter generally didn’t stay long enough to need it, but it was a nice gesture. Wanda was gradually (and begrudgingly) warming up to Tony Stark, but that was mostly because Peter begged her to be nice to him.

“He’s truly a good person, Wanda. I swear” Peter’s words echoed in her brain and she could recall the hope on his face. He just wanted them to get along, so she tried, for him. They had become close over the past year that Wanda had been staying in the Avengers complex, especially since they shared the flat/ floor together. He often opted to live in Queens, due to his school and loved ones residing there, but he returned every so often to spend time with the Avengers.

Sighing, Wanda began poking about the empty cupboards and the fridge in the hopes of finding something to cook (with Friday’s help of course). She huffed when she realised there was virtually nothing there to find.

“Friday is there anything I can cook in this place?” Wanda asked in exasperation after scouring through the fridge for a third time.

“Miss Maximoff, it is currently 4 am” Friday replied, and Wanda could swear there was an air of confusion in the A. I’s tone.

“Yes, I am aware of that” she grumbled in response.

“Is there a reason why you are awake at this time, miss? Should I alert Mr. Stark?”

“You know, you don’t have to alert Stark every time I awaken during the night, Fri. I’m fine, I just can’t sleep” Wanda dismissed with a wave of her hand, despite knowing that Friday wasn’t actually in the room with her. She hopped nimbly onto the smooth countertop and crossed her legs underneath her in a basket. Her mind ached from the emotions that were still attacking, and she began to massage it with her hands.

“Mr Stark ordered me to ensure that you were happy and healthy at all times” Friday answered politely, “Your sleeping habits do not seem to make you happy, and they are certainly not healthy”

“You don’t miss much, do you Fri?” she asked rhetorically.

“I would be failing my duties to Mr. Stark if I didn’t follow his orders” Friday replied anyway, making Wanda chuckle.

“Would you like me to alert anyone, Miss Maximoff?” Friday repeated, and Wanda considered the offer for a moment.

“Is anyone else awake?” Wanda asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

“Yes, Mr. Rogers is currently making pancakes downstairs” Friday informed her.

Wanda’s ears perked up at the information. A distraction was tempting, but she knew Steve would question why she was awake at this hour. Then again, he too was awake at this hour, so he couldn’t say much. It was Friday who finally swayed her decision.

“Mr. Rogers would like me to tell you that he would not mind the company, if you would like to join him”

“You told him I was awake?” Wanda cried out incredulously. “Now I’ll need to go down. Thanks a lot Friday” she huffed, even though deep down she had wanted to head down anyway.

Completely misinterpreting her sarcasm, Friday replied, “You’re welcome, Miss Maximoff” and Wanda couldn’t help the smile that curled on her lips.

“Goddamn machine” she muttered, but the smile was still present on her face.

She quickly changed out of her pyjamas into leggings and a worn, grey hoodie that once belonged to Pietro. She found it amongst her things one day and she couldn’t bear to get rid of it, so she claimed it as her own. Even after all this time it was still the softest hoodie she owned, even if it was too big for her. Grabbing her phone (courtesy of Stark, once again) she entered the elevator at the front of her apartment and asked Friday to take her to Steve’s floor.

She wasn’t sure what to expect upon arrival at Captain America’s floor at 4 in the morning, but it certainly wasn’t the sight she was met with.

Steve Rogers was stood in his kitchen sporting a blue t-shirt and faded, black jogging bottoms with a dish towel thrown haphazardly over his shoulder. He bounced lightly on his feet to the music playing quietly from the speaker in the ceiling. It wasn’t music she recognised, but to be fair Wanda didn’t really listen to music all that often so that wasn’t surprising. He held the handle to a frying pan in his hand and Wanda could see a spatula lying on the counter beside him. Various ingredients were strewn messily across the worktops and Wanda fought the urge to laugh at the sheer absurdity of the situation.

Hesitantly, she stepped into the room and the elevator doors closed behind her with a click. Steve twisted the dial on the stove down slightly before turning to face her. Smiling, he beckoned her further into the room and Wanda had no choice but to join him in the kitchen area.

“You hungry?” Steve asked casually. Wanda, once again, was taken by surprise. She had expected questions or perhaps even a lecture. Him offering her breakfast was the last thing she thought he would do.

“I-uh…sure” she stammered, heat rising in her cheeks. She hastily wiped her sweaty palms on her jumper. Either Steve didn’t notice her nerves, or he was too polite to comment on them (Wanda suspected it was the latter) as he simply turned back to the pancakes and asked, “Could you sort the coffee, please?”

Grateful for something to do, Wanda rushed over to the glass cabinets and grabbed two yellow mugs out of them. As she busied herself with the coffee, she felt her discomfort rising. Although Steve had been nothing but welcoming since she joined the Avengers, she still felt out of place. After all, she had tortured him and his friends, how could she feel at home with these people after hurting them like that? However, just as she was going to burst out with some half-assed excuse and bail, Steve began talking to her. 

“You know, I never really learned how to cook. When I grew up, it was always the ladies that were expected to do the household jobs like this. I always thought it was unfair, but that’s how it was. So, these probably wont taste that good, just pre-warning you” he laughed heartily, and it eased Wanda’s worries a little. Still unsure of what to say, she merely chuckled politely in response as she poured the steaming coffee into the mugs.

“Do you take anything in your coffee?” she asked finally, and she blushed again when she realised that was the first thing she had really said since entering his flat.

“No thank you” he answered. He carried two plates of pancakes over to the table, one with a normal sized portion and another with what looked like 5 portions stuffed onto one plate. Steve chuckled at her wide eyes and explained “The serum increased my metabolism, so I have to eat a lot more than the average person”.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude” Wanda shook her head sheepishly, but Steve kindly dismissed her. Wanda handed him his coffee and sat in the chair opposite him. Her headache, thankfully, had dulled to a more manageable ache and the emotions had dulled too. Wanda silently thanked her powers for calming down, she wasn’t sure what she would have done if they had spiked in Steve’s company. For a while, they ate in a companionable silence. The music still played softly in the background, but other than that it was quiet. Peaceful. For the first time since she arrived Wanda was grateful she came, it was nice to not be alone plus the pancakes were actually quite good.

“So, Friday tells me that you couldn’t sleep?” Steve commented airily about halfway into their meal. Wanda nearly choked on her coffee at the statement (that was definitely posed as a question) and it took her a second to compose herself.

“Well, yes. New York is a rather noisy place” Wanda replied, attempting to mirror his airy tone. Steve agreed with her, nodding his head.

“Yeah, I found that too when I first came. You get used to it though, after a while”

Wanda nodded her head in return, praying for that to be the end of the awkward conversation.

“Wanda…I want you to know that you can talk to me, about anything. I know things have been hard for you recently and- just know that I’m here to listen” Steve spoke slowly, carefully, and Wanda got the sense that he was trying not to say the wrong thing. Her chest swelled at his openness and she found herself sending him a full and genuine smile.

“Thank you, Mr. Rogers. That means a lot”

“Oh, please, call me Steve” he insisted.

Once again, there was quiet at the table. The sun was gradually rising outside, replacing the dark sky with a beautiful blend of swirling oranges and pinks. Steve asked Friday to turn the lights off and the natural sunlight filtered into the room, casting everything in a warm glow.

“Thank you for breakfast Steve” Wanda said, her eyes still trained on the amber horizon.

“It was no bother, Wanda. Nice to have the company, actually” he replied, and one look at his face told Wanda he meant it.

Pancakes in the early hours of the morning became a somewhat regular occurrence with the Avengers. Sometimes, it would just be Steve and Wanda, other times Natasha or Clint or once or twice even Tony and Bruce would join them round the breakfast table with bleary eyes and messy hair. As it turns out, Wanda wasn’t the only one haunted by demons at night, and whilst they never spoke about them, there was a quiet understanding established between everyone.

And although she never thought she would say it, Wanda had to admit that she appreciated the company too.

The free pancakes were an added bonus, of course.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> If you liked this, please leave a kudos and perhaps even a comment, if you are feeling generous >3  
> I would gladly accept prompts from you guys for future one shots, so please leave suggestions as well.
> 
> See you all soon! :D


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